Survey: LTC Policy Sales Have Doubled in Five Years.

A survey by the Health Insurance Association of America says the number of private long-term-care insurance policies sold in the United States has doubled in the past 5 1/2 years, climbing to nearly 6 million policies sold by mid-1998 from 3 million in 1992.

The report said the growth in long-term-care insurance sales has averaged 21% annually from 1987 to 1997. The report is titled Long-Term Care Insurance in 1997-1998, but it includes statistics for other years.

The survey involved 119 long-term-care insurance providers, said HIAA spokesman Richard Coorsh.

"Our nation soon will be beset by a veritable demographic tidal wave of baby boomers considering long-term-care costs as they approach retirement," HIAA President Chip Kahn said. "This new survey shows that millions more Americans view private long-term-care insurance as excellent protection from the often catastrophic cost of nursing home care, home health care or care at an assisted-living facility."

Study data show the households that buy long-term-care insurance had an average income of $35,000 a year. About half of the individual and group association policies were sold in nine states: Florida, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas, Ohio, Washington, Iowa and Missouri. Florida accounted for about 10% of the sales.

Ten states were rated as the highest areas of market penetration, based on the number of policies sold and the number of people age 65 and older in each state, HIAA said. They are: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington.

The report said that as of June 1998, the employer-sponsored market had seen a 40% average annual growth rate--to about 800,000 policies cumulatively--and more than 2,000 employers offered long-term-care coverage to workers and/or retirees.